<DIV><DIV> <DIV>In this creative and engaging project, the author of the widely popular <I>Florida: A Short History</I>, offers a brief, stirring invitation to the state&rsquo;s history in both audio and print formats. Gannon, a longtime researcher and teacher, packs thousands of years of history and change into a concise, authoritative 40-minute cruise through Florida&rsquo;s centuries. <DIV>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Spanning millennia from Florida&rsquo;s earliest inhabitants to the 2004-5 hurricane seasons, Gannon highlights ten watershed periods in the state&rsquo;s history. Appropriately, in a state widely known as a cultural melting pot, the first four of those periods, covering nearly 12,000 years, were shaped by a different dominant population and culture: the original inhabitants; Spanish settlers and missionaries; British colonists; and the Spanish restoration and American territorial populations. Political and social strife dominated the next two periods, early statehood, and Civil War and Reconstruction. Then, beginning near the turn of the last century, themes that have driven the emergence of the megastate&mdash;innovation, investment, and technology&mdash;came to characterize the final four periods: the Flagler era; the land boom; the Second World War; and finally, the age of air conditioning, mosquito control, and VA home loans. <DIV>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From the Timucua to Disney, Spanish explorers to Canadian tourists, and indigo plantations to sun-drenched beaches, Gannon recalls the people, places, and key events shaping the longest recorded history of any of the American states. Presented in a personable, conversational style for all readers and listeners, <I>Florida in Forty Minutes</I> is entertaining history, suitable for classroom useor as a gift for anyone who loves, or ought to know more about, Florida history. <DIV>&nbsp; </DIV>